Chandragupta Maurya (died ca. 298 BC) was the founder of the Maurya dynasty and the first historical emperor of India.

According to the Puranic tradition, Chandragupta, also known as Sandracottus, was the illegitimate son of the last Nanda king of Magadha by the maid servant Mura, hence the name Maurya. Jain and Buddhist sources declare him to be a scion of the Moriya clan of Pippalivana.

In his youth Chandragupta came under the influence of Chanakya, also known as Kautilya, a Taxilian Brahmin and the reputed author of Arthasastra, the celebrated work on Indian polity. Aided by Chanakya, Chandragupta conspired to usurp the Magadhan rule but failed in his first attempt. Exiled, he met Alexander in 326/325 B.C., studied the significance and success of the Greek invasion, and bided his time.

After Alexander's death in 323 B.C., Chandragupta put an end to the Greek rule in northwest India, returned...